01 January 2013

2012 Best in World of Yesterday - Beating a drum

With over forty years of history to sift through, there is always
something new to talk about in World of Yesterday. Old landscaping and
architecture, long gone attractions, the concepts that were tweaked or never
were, the possibilities are endless. Even a simple photograph, say of Mickey
Mouse Beating a drum, can say a lot about the day and age in which it was
taken!

Walt Disney World on Parade was the moniker given to the 5,000
participant rolling spectacle that was part of the dedication events for
Walt Disney World and the Magic Kingdom. We’ve talked previously about
the 1,076 member marching band led by Meredith Wilson, but today I want
to stop for just a moment and admire the role of the big cheese himself,
Mickey Mouse, in the parade.

In almost every parade,
Mickey is seen in one of two positions, the very first or very last
float. He has been a conductor, sorcerer, other sorts of conjurers and,
as is the case in the October 25, 1971 Walt Disney World on Parade, the
band leader. Notice how high Mickey is and how small he looks compared
to the drum? As it turns out, Mickey was at the front of the parade on
that balmy Monday in 1971, which also happened to be Veterans Day,
banging along on a bass drum that was the largest in the world at the
time.The
little thing I notice from this photograph is the simple and gorgeous
iconography set upon the sides of the drum. In the background he castle
stretches skyward, while a monorail whooshes from within the belly of
the Contemporary on its way to the Magic Kingdom, and a sailboat races
along in the choppy waves of the foreground. It is succinct and simple
and provides just a taste of all that the Vacation Kingdom has to offer.
Then, of course, there is the capital letter D wrapped around the
global Mickey symbol that was the insignia of Walt Disney World for so
many years.

There are performers in the background and
we could also talk about the horses pulling this mighty drum, but
perhaps we should stop here and let Mickey and the drum enjoy their day
in the spotlight.